Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life

Over the past little while, we have learned a lot about the oncoming exile and about the future.  While life for Bnei Yisrael must have seemed pretty sad and "down in the dumps" at the time, G-d always seems to be looking at the bright side of this horrible situation.

Here is an extremely quick review of the beginning of Yishayahu:  The kings and people of both Yehuda and Yisrael lacked morality in their actions and had wavering faith in G-d.  They believed that they were the source of their own success and could not see G-d's hand in their lives.  Because of this, the kingdom of Yisrael was exiled by Assyria.  (Assyria was punished for this and for their haughtiness.  Their punishment was that they were conquered by Babylon.)  The kingdom of Yehuda will be exiled by Babylon and the Beit Hamikdash will be destroyed.

In perakim 11-12, G-d and Yishayahu slightly change the subject.  Since things in the previous ten perakim were so depressing, G-d lightened the mood a bit by talking about the ideal future.  In this ideal future, there will be an ideal leader.  This leader will judge the people fairly, regardless of their external appearance.  He will reward the righteous and punish the evil.  He will be G-d fearing and possess the spirit of wisdom from G-d.  He will influence the people to follow G-d.  This leader will basically right the wrongs of society and restore the people to the way G-d had originally intended them to be; under this new leader, the people will act with morality towards each other and will create a just society.  The leader will gather of Bnei Yisrael from all over the world and bring them back to Israel.  They will unite and defeat their enemies.  Also, G-d will he the one who leads them home.

The other interesting topic mentioned in these perakim is the end of the notion of predator and prey.  In perek 11, it says that predators will lie down with their prey.  There will be no more violence, death, or fear.  All of these creatures will know G-d.  Both of these metaphors talk about the time of Mashiach, when the world will be in its greatest form, exactly the way G-d intended for it to be.

You may be thinking, "What on Earth does the title have to do with anything?"  "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" is a song from a Monty Python movie and appears in a scene about crucifixion.  In this scene, there are a bunch of men on the crosses who know that they are going to die soon.  One man starts singing about how there is a bright side in life or death, in other words, in fate.  While this view was probably not popular at the time of the Romans when people were being killed for their beliefs, the message still stands.  I feel like G-d was singing this song in his head when he gave Yishayahu the prophecies in perakim 11-12.  Obviously, G-d felt that there was some kind of hope for the future.  By looking at the light and bright things in life, He was able to get through this tough situation and create a brighter future, which, unfortunately, we haven't reached yet.

Nevi'im aside, this is an important message about life.  Life can seem terrible at times, especially when you have a ton of homework and are totally stressed out. Don't forget that there is usually something better coming for you, no matter how bad things seem in the moment.

(Here is a link to the song.  Please mute your volume and look away from 2:09-2:11 because there is one swear word.  The point of the song is still made without that line.  Enjoy!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrdEMERq8MA